Unilever Declares End of the "Big Idea," Ushering in the Era of "Travel Ideas" in Marketing

Unilever has unveiled a groundbreaking shift in its marketing philosophy. According to The Drum, the company has formally requested traditional advertising agencies to “cede the creative frontlines” to creators. This declaration stems from a conviction that the era of the “Big Idea” has ended and a new era of “Travel Ideas” has begun.

This decision by Unilever is not merely about reallocating budgets. It represents a fundamental restructuring of the marketing process itself—from a linear, agency-driven model to a circular, creator-led framework. The company openly asserts, “Give creators the seat at the table. We no longer need Big Ideas.”

Transition to Creator-Led Marketing

Traditionally, marketing models involved brands and agencies first deciding on strategies, solidifying creative directions, and then producing TV commercials and key visuals. Media plans would then be formulated, with the question of “which creators to hire” arising only in the final stages. In this model, creators served merely as amplifiers, tasked with disseminating pre-crafted messages in a way that resonated with specific audiences.

Unilever is reversing this order. Its new strategy places creators at the forefront of the creative process, empowering them to determine the direction of ideas. This approach aligns with the strategy of Unilever’s new CEO, Fernandes, who took office in March 2025. Fernandes prioritizes social media and influencer marketing, aiming to increase the number of creators collaborating with the company twentyfold. He also plans to raise the proportion of the social media budget from approximately 30% to 50%.

By the end of 2025, Unilever had already collaborated with around 300,000 creators, a figure that underscores the organizational transformation accompanying this strategy. The “Social First” strategy for 2025 transitioned from merely “buying traffic” from creators to actively involving them in creative production.

From Big Ideas to Travel Ideas

The “Big Idea” thrived in an era dominated by television, outdoor advertising, and major agencies. During that time, brands would launch a single, overarching concept, which agencies would refine into memorable phrases and disseminate across multiple media channels. This approach worked because public attention was relatively concentrated, and media entry points were limited. Brands could achieve broad audience coverage with a single concept, given sufficient exposure.

Today’s communication landscape, however, is fundamentally different. Consumer attention is fragmented across platforms like TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, live streaming, e-commerce platforms, Xiaohongshu, Bilibili, and countless niche communities. Brands must now engage with “fluid content scenes” rather than a “unified mass market.”

This shift gave rise to the concept of “Travel Ideas.” A Travel Idea is a cultural meme—an idea that crosses platform boundaries, transcends community cultures, and spreads beyond languages and consumption scenarios. Crucially, as the idea “travels,” it doesn’t lose its essence but instead gains new vitality.

Unilever executives describe this shift as follows: “Marketers once spent their careers chasing Big Ideas that could win Cannes Lions awards. Now, brands must seek ideas that can ‘travel.’” This statement reflects a value shift from creativity aimed at winning awards to creativity that genuinely permeates consumers’ lives, inspiring secondary creations and active use.

UGC as the Source of New Creativity

Unilever’s “Part of the Game” project exemplifies the essence of Travel Ideas. This campaign addressed the issue of female athletes facing shame over menstrual stains during sports. Initially, agency MullenLowe proposed the slogan “Wash Away The Taboo.” However, when shared with four Arsenal Women’s Team players, they outright rejected it.

The athletes argued that the slogan failed to accurately reflect their real experiences and beliefs. The agency’s proposal was discarded, and the players’ own suggestion, “Part of the Game,” was ultimately adopted. This campaign later earned nine Cannes Lions nominations, including a Bronze Lion in the print and publishing category for MullenLowe in 2025.

What stands out in this case is that the creators dictated the creative direction. They understood how the theme should be expressed within the women’s sports community, which words sounded condescending, unnatural, or authentically represented their experiences. The essence of Travel Ideas lies in cultural validation within actual communities before the idea “travels.” Ideas confined to boardrooms are merely self-serving Big Ideas.

Circular Marketing Systems

Traditional brand marketing followed a linear flow: the creative department conceptualized ideas, the production team created visuals, the media team purchased ad slots, and the e-commerce team handled sales. While functional, these departments operated independently. At the end of the process, all that remained were review reports and a few visual assets.

The flow in the era of Travel Ideas is more circular. It begins with signals from user-generated content (UGC), feedback from creators, community insights, content co-creation, platform distribution, business conversions, data feedback, and finally leads to the next briefing. Within this cycle, agencies must also adapt their roles.

A case study featuring Vaseline illustrates this new marketing system. The inexpensive product saw countless “crazy uses” discovered by users on TikTok—removing shoe stains, extending perfume longevity by applying on wrists, or preventing chip residue on fingers by applying Vaseline before eating. These uses were entirely unforeseen by the brand.

Under traditional PR thinking, such UGC might have been ignored or suppressed for “not aligning with the brand’s premium image.” However, Unilever took a different approach. It mobilized its internal science team to rigorously test these unconventional applications in a lab. Based on the findings, the company launched a “Vaseline Verified” campaign.

In the next phase, Unilever returned to some original creators, inviting them to co-create new products and participate in promotions. Sales royalties were also shared with these creators. This process demonstrates how UGC evolved into a source of creativity, with creators becoming co-discoverers of product meaning. Brands, therefore, are no longer mere definers of products but must verify, curate, and amplify actual usage scenarios.

Transformation of the Agency Industry

Unilever is not suggesting that agencies are obsolete but that their role is evolving. Brands now seek agencies capable of operating within a more chaotic, faster-paced, and decentralized system. Agencies must understand creators, platforms, communities, data, and business integration to remain relevant.

Industry M&A trends already reflect this shift. Accenture Song acquired creator agency Whalar, Publicis bought Influential and Captiv8, while WPP and Havas actively bolster their creator marketing capabilities. Major agency groups now recognize that creators are not just a minor component of media plans but are becoming a new marketing infrastructure.

According to IAB’s “2025 Creator Economy Ad Spend & Strategy Report,” U.S. ad spend on creators is expected to reach $37 billion in 2025, a 26% year-on-year increase—four times the growth rate of the broader media industry. Concurrently, about half of advertisers consider creators an essential element of their marketing strategies. In light of these shifts, agencies that only propose beautiful Big Ideas will find their value increasingly difficult to justify.

Practical Strategies for Brands

In the era of Travel Ideas, brands can take three key actions:

1. Place creators at the forefront. Many brands still decide campaigns, shoot expensive TV commercials, and finalize visuals before considering creators. This approach remains rooted in Big Ideas. Travel Ideas demand involving creators from the briefing stage, asking questions like, “Does this expression feel too ‘advertisey’?,” “Does this topic resonate in real-life scenarios?,” or “Can this product scene be naturally captured?”

2. Use UGC as a creative source. In traditional marketing, UGC was often seen as a “byproduct” after campaign success. In the Travel Ideas era, UGC should be integrated earlier into the creative chain. How are users already utilizing the product? How do they misunderstand or modify it? How do they incorporate it into their lives? These insights can become gateways to the next creative effort.

3. Redesign marketing processes to be circular. Establish mechanisms for discovering insights from UGC, co-creating with creators, iterating based on platform feedback, and reintegrating results into product and business outcomes. Building this cycle will be crucial for brands to remain competitive in the Travel Ideas era.

Editorial Opinion

In the short term, Unilever’s strategy is expected to ripple through major consumer goods companies. Allocating 50% of budgets to social media will deal a direct blow to traditional agencies’ revenue structures, especially full-service agencies that manage strategy and creative production end-to-end. As the creator economy’s growth outpaces the media industry’s overall growth, agency acquisitions and restructuring are likely to accelerate further.

In the long term, this shift challenges the very notion of “what a brand is.” As brand messages become co-created with communities, rather than dictated in corporate boardrooms, the concept of brand management itself will need redefinition. The Vaseline case, where consumers discovered product use scenarios and the brand later validated them, suggests that brand sovereignty is shifting from corporations to communities.

Our editorial team believes the true value of Travel Ideas will be tested not at the beginning of the “journey” but at its destination.

References

• “联合利华继续改革，营销从 Big Idea，进入 Travel Idea 时代”, by 寻空的营销启示录 — 钛媒体, 2026-07-25T11:36:01.000Z (ARR)
• Source URL: https://www.tmtpost.com/8079313.html